LIVE! India should aspire to become global power of happiness: Prez

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Fri, 14 April 2017

India should aspire to become global power of happiness: Prez

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21:09 India should aspire to become global power of happiness: Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee today underscored the need for India to be a global powerhouse not just in terms of economic parameters but also 'Gross National Happiness'.

"If we aspire to be one of the leading economic powers of the world, yes, we can be, but merely in statistical terms, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), in terms of skill are not adequate," Mukherjee said after laying the foundation stone for the Bengaluru Dr B R Ambedkar School of Economics here.

The President said the concept of development has changed now and international organisations like the World Bank and IMF are talking about development in terms of GDP as well as Gross National Happiness.

"Along with GDP, GNH is considered as one of the important factors of development," Mukherjee emphasised.

He expressed concern over unemployability of the youth in India, saying "600 million youth are entering the job market, but their employability is not adequate".

"They are educated, but not employable. Their employability is not up to the world standard," he said.

Mukherjee observed that skill development may not appear glamorous but most important in the Indian context.

India plans to launch on May 5 the 'South Asia Satellite' that will benefit all the countries in the region, except Pakistan which is not a part of the project.

"It's going up in the first week of May," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman A S Kiran Kumar told PTI in a telephonic interview.

According to ISRO sources, the launch of this communication satellite (GSAT-9) is scheduled for May 5 on board the space agency's rocket GSLV-09 from Sriharikota spaceport.

Kiran Kumar said the satellite, with a lift-off mass of 2,195 kg, would carry 12 ku-band transponders.

"Pakistan is not included in that. They did not want (to be part of the project)," he said.

Sources said the satellite is designed for a mission life of more than 12 years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made an announcement about this satellite during the SAARC Summit in Kathmandu in 2014 calling it a "gift to India's neighbours."

"It (name) was changed to this (South Asia Satellite) because of that only (Pakistan not being part of it)," Kiran Kumar said.

Earlier, it was named as 'SAARC Satellite.'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today demanded that the municipal polls be "postponed" by a month or two till arrangements are made to use VVPAT-equipped machines along with EVMs.

Kejriwal met the Delhi State Election Commissioner and alleged that "redundant" pre-2006 electronic voting machines that were "junked" and can be "hacked even by a child" are going to be used in the April 23 municipal polls.

"He (SEC) said he will write to the Chief Election Commissioner. But there is one week left for the polls. So there's no possibility of replacing the machines or bring VVPAT machines. So I told him to postpone it by 1-2 months by writing to the CEC," Kejriwal told reporters.

The SEC rejected the proposal saying there was no provision to postpone the elections. Kejriwal insisted, under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, the Centre has the power to extend the tenure of the civic bodies by one year.

VVPAT or Voter-verifiable paper audit is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for.

The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home. The voters see Voter-verifiable paper audit trail slip for seven seconds, which would be an acknowledgement receipt for the party they voted for in the election.

Kejriwal, who has been raising the issue of alleged EVM manipulation since the Punjab poll verdict where the AAP finished a distant second, also demanded that the AAP be allowed to get the machines "technically verified by experts" during mock trials before the polls. "

Digital transactions increased by about 23 times in March to nearly 64 lakh, with total value of Rs 2,425 crore, from last November when demonetisation took effect.

"Volume of all digital transactions increased by about 23 times with 63,80,000 digital transactions for a value of Rs 2,425 crore in March 2017, compared to 2,80,000 digital transactions worth Rs 101 crore till November 2016," Niti Aayog said in a statement.

Aadhaar Enabled Payments have increased from 2.5 crore in November 2016 to over 5 crore in March 2017, it said.

After scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on November 8, 2016, the government had launched two schemes to incentivise digital payments -- Lucky Grahak Yojana and DigiDhan Vyapar Yojana on December 25.

The statement also said Immediate Payment Service transactions have also increased from 3.6 crore to 6.7 crore during the same period.

In order to achieve the target of 2,500 crore digital transactions in the current financial year, the Prime Minister today announced about 75 townships spread all over India as 'less-cash townships', it said.

According to the statement, a less-cash township is one where the deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure is complete, all the families in the township are covered under training programmes.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today refuted Pakistan's claim of a fair trial being given to retired navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav and said all efforts were being made to secure justice for the Indian national.

"I do not agree with what Pakistan has said. Kulbhushan Jadhav did not get a fair trial," he told a press meet in Kolkata.

"All efforts are being made to secure justice for Jadhav. We will do everything," he added.

Pakistan, earlier in the day, said the death sentence to Jadhav was based on "credible" and "specific" evidence that proved his involvement in spying and terror activities and that a more active diplomacy was needed to arrest the "growing crises" in the Indo-Pak ties.

Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said due process of law was followed in the trial of 46-year-old Jadhav.

Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka, whose pay package was one of the contentions raised by the founders, has drawn USD 6.68 million (about Rs 43 crore) or 61 per cent of the promised compensation for the 2016-17 fiscal.

Sikka was eligible for a USD 11 million pay including basic salary, variable pay, restricted stock units and performance stock options for the year.

Incidentally, this is also lower than what Sikka drew in the previous financial year when he took home Rs 48.73 crore.

According to Infosys' financial statements that outline compensation to key executives, Sikka received only USD 3.68 million of the USD 8 million variable component that he was promised.

One of the highest paid executives in the Indian IT industry, Sikka took home USD 0.82 million in variable pay, USD 1.9 million in RSUs and ESOPs worth USD 0.96 million, totalling USD 3.68 million.

Sikka's salary was revised from USD 7.08 million to a handsome USD 11 million package with effect from April 2016, a move that did not go down well with the founders, including NR Narayana Murthy.

The USD 11 million package was to include a base salary of USD 1 million and USD 2 million worth of stock annually as well USD 3 million in variable pay.

The Indian men's hockey team will not take part in the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia for the second year in a row, citing the presence of Pakistan in the event to be held in October.

Hockey India said since Sultan of Johor Cup is an invitational tournament it would continue its stand of not taking part in any series against Pakistan until it tenders an unconditional apology for the 2014 Champions Trophy

controversy.

Sultan of Johor Cup is an Under-21 tournament and India won the title in 2015. It is not a global event held under the aegis of world governing body FIH or any continental body.

In January, HI announced its decision not to play any tournament against Pakistan until they submit an unconditional written apology for lewd and unprofessional behaviour of the Pakistan team during the FIH Champions Trophy in India in 2014.

The matter did not end there. Ahead of the 2016 Junior World Cup in Lucknow, Pakistan Hockey Federation alleged that India did not want Pakistan to take part in the tournament. India had outrightly rejected the claim.

Eventually, Pakistan did not take part in the Junior World Cup.

"Though Hockey India and its players had let go of the hurtful incident in 2014, it was the recent allegations by PHF (during the Junior World Cup) that has resulted in India pulling out of this tournament.

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the party lost the Rajouri Garden bypoll as people were unhappy over MLA Jarnail Singh leaving the seat to contest Punjab polls but stressed this result would not impact the Municipal Corporation of Delh elections.

"There were several reasons why Jarnail Singh left the seat and went to fight Punjab assembly elections. He has done a lot for the Sikh community. But the people of Rajouri Garden did not like the fact that he left the seat," he said.

"Even I was getting feedback that the people of the constituency were unhappy over Jarnail leaving in the middle of his term," Kejriwal added.

The Delhi chief minister, however, said that this defeat will have no impact in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections to be held on April 23.

However, the party's attempts to explain the loss has not gone down well with Jarnail, a journalist-turned-politician, who had shot to fame after hurling a shoe at former Home Minister P Chidambaram during a press conference.

Jarnail has said while it was the party's decision to field him in Punjab, it should also go for a deep and honest introspection.

The AAP yesterday suffered a humiliating defeat in the Rajouri Garden Assembly bypoll in the national capital. Its candidate Harjeet Singh managed to get only 10,243 votes, less than one-sixth of the total votes polled, and lost deposit.

The BJP-SAD joint candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa bagged 40,602 votes, over 50 per cent of the total votes polled.

Pakistan's exports to India have grown despite border tensions and war of words between the two neighbours, according to a media report.

According to Dawn News, a recent report by the State Bank of Pakistan showed that Pakistan's exports to India grew during the first eight months of 2016-17 fiscal while imports fell by 23 per cent.

During the period, the two countries were locked in bitter rivalry with terror attacks by Pakistan-based militant groups, Kashmir and border tensions impacting ties.

However, this seems to have had little impact on bilateral trade relations, the report said.

The trade balance was in favour of India, it noted.

Growing by 14 per cent, exports from Pakistan to India amounted to USD 286 million in July-February. Imports from India fell by 23 per cent to USD 958.3 million from USD 1,244 million recorded a year ago.

People who are in favour of better trade relations with India have to face harsh criticism in Pakistan. The same situation prevails across the border, the media report said.

One reason for Pakistan's improved exports to India is high cement demand in the neighbouring country. This has offset the negative impact of a decline in Pakistan's cement exports to Afghanistan and South Africa, the report said.

The SBP said cement exports continued their downward trend, with the largest share in the year-on-year decline in the first half of 2016-17 originating from two markets -- South Africa and Afghanistan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a two-day visit to India beginning April 30 during which the two countries will explore ways to strengthen anti-terror cooperation and deepen trade and investment ties.

Erdogan's overnight visit will comes barely days after a referendum in Turkey on April 16 on whether to change the country from a parliamentary democracy to a executive structure led by the president.

The Turkish president will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1 on key bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

With Turkey being a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the issue of India's membership bid of the elite group is likely to figure during the talks between the two leaders.

Turkey is not opposed to India's NSG membership but has been maintaining that the powerful bloc should come out with a system to consider entry of the countries which are not signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, diplomatic sources said.

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal today said a nation does not exist if the people do not have nationalism.

Inaugurating a two-day convention in New Delhi on "Nationalism and Patriotism", organised by Veterans India--a group of ex-servicemen, he said youths need to be taken in a right direction for the nation's interest.

Referring to students' protests in Jadavpur and Jawaharlal Nehru universities, Baijal said "A nation doesn't exist if people of the country do not have nationalism."

Addressing a gathering of army veterans and school students, the LG also advised Veterans India to take forward their vision in spreading nationalism and also to channelise thoughts and ideas of youth in the right direction.

"Various reports say we are a nation with more number of youths and they need to be taken in a right direction for the benefit of the nation," he said.

Besides, Baijal said, MSME sector had the potential to provide jobs for large number of skilled labour.

"Organisation like Veterans India which has trained human resources should tap the CSR funds, NGOs and institutes providing skill-based training in order to train them to make youths access jobs in MSME sector," he said.

17:43

Three people arrested in connection with heckling of CRPF personnel on polling day in Budgam on April 9: Police

16:51 'No Modi-bashing': AAP's new strategy post-poll drubbing

Stung by its poor performances in Punjab and Goa assembly polls, the AAP has changed its strategy of directly attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has decided to focus on "positive campaign" as it faces litmus test in the MCD municipal polls.

A party leader said the AAP will resort to what it did during the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls-- a "positive campaign".

"We are adopting the same strategy used by the party before 2015 assembly polls in which we went to people convincing about the positive work done during our 49-day government.

"We have seen the outcome of a positive campaign in the 2015 Assembly polls and will continue to do that for the MCD polls," said a senior party leader.

Another reason behind not targeting Modi in the MCD polls is the massive victory the BJP scored in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Delhi has a sizable voter population that belongs to the two states.

The AAP leader said attacking Modi directly during the MCD polls campaign may backfire.

In the recent Assembly election in Punjab, the AAP could win 20 of 117 seats, while drew a blank in 40-member Goa assembly.

During the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, AAP's strategy revolved around attacking Modi. Kejriwal himself unsuccessfully contested against Modi from Varanasi.

The party fared badly in the polls failing to win even a single seat in its home turf in Delhi.

Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Gautam Bambawale today met Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua to seek consular access to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been given death sentence by an army court there.

During the meet, Bambawale sought copies of chargesheet and judgment by Pakistani military court against Jadhav, ministry of external affairs said.

The MEA said India has conveyed to Pakistan that it will appeal the order and are studying Pakistani Army Act.

However, the defiant Pakistan FS said that since this is case of espionage, the consular access can't be granted. To this the Indian envoy said that under international law it must be granted.

Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs said that all parties are unanimous that Jadhav should be given death sentence after he went through legal process.

Aziz also said that Jadhav is involved in anti-Pakistan activities and he has accepted to all the charges.

Aziz further said that Jadhav has been convicted according to Pakistani law.

The Lahore High Court Bar Association said on Friday that it will take action against any lawyer who extends his services to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

"The LHBA has unanimously decided to cancel the membership of any lawyer who offers his services to Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav," Lahore High Court Bar Association Secretary-General Amer Saeed Raan said after a meeting of the bar.

He said the bar has asked the government not to bow to any foreign pressure in the case of Jadhav.

"India has declared Jadhav its son and is putting pressure on the Pakistani government for his release. We demand that the Indian spy who is involved in playing with lives of Pakistanis should not be spared and the government (should) ensure his hanging," he said.

Earlier, Pakistan's top military commanders under army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa made it clear that "no compromise" shall be made on such "anti-state acts".

The death sentence to Jadhav, 46, was confirmed by army chief Gen Bajwa after the Field General Court Martial found him guilty of "espionage and sabotage activities" in Pakistan.

India had acknowledged that Jadhav had served with the navy but denied that he has any connection with the government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched BHIM-Aadhaar App at Digidhan Mela in Nagpur on the occasion of 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar.

Modi also launched several initiatives to further the digital payments revolution.

BHIM Aadhaar, the merchant interface of the BHIM App will pave the way for making digital payments by using Aadhaar.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

- Delighted to be here on Ambedkar Jayanti. I am honoured to have got the opportunity to pray at Deekshabhoomi

- Dr. Ambedkar did not have a trace of bitterness or revenge in him. This was his speciality

- Each and every Indian must have his or her own house. And that house must be equipped with electricity, water and other facilities

- People of India gave their lives so that India attains freedom. Our freedom is the result of the sacrifices made by several greats

- This DigiDhan movement is a safai abhiyaan. It is to fight the menace of corruption

- One of the sectors towards which we are devoting significant effort is the renewable energy sector

- Benefits of the projects inaugurated today will help our youngsters

- We are reaching a time when the mobiles phones will be where financial transactions will take place

- Dr. Ambedkar wanted to build an India for all citizens and 'BHIM-Aadhaar' is the strongest foundation of a 'New Economy New India

As tension between the Unites States and North Korea is rising, China has said that a conflict over North Korea could break out "at any moment".

"Lately, tensions have risen with the US and the ROK on one side, and the DPRK on the other, and one has the feeling that a conflict could break out at any moment," China's foreign minister Wang Yi said, using abbreviations for South and North Korea.

Yi's comments came after United States President Donald Trump said that the "problem" of North Korea "will be taken care of", as speculation mounts that the reclusive state could be preparing another nuclear or missile test.

"If a war occurs, the result is a situation in which everybody loses and there can be no winner," Yi further said.

A White House foreign policy advisor said Friday that the US is assessing military options in response to North Korea's weapons programs, saying another provocative test was a question of "when" rather than "if."

Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Gautam Bambawale will be meeting Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in connection with the case of retired Indian navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been given death sentence by an army court there.

According to sources, Bambawale is expected to raise the issue of consular access to Jadhav as Pakistan has rejected 13 of India's requests for the same in the last one year.

Apart from diplomatic options, India will also explore legal remedies permitted under Pakistan legal system including Jadhav's family appealing against the verdict.

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati today said she has no reservations in shaking hands with other parties in her struggle against the Bharatiya Janata Party on the issue of EVM tampering in the recent assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"The BSP now has no reservations in taking the help of anti-BJP parties in its fight against EVM tampering and the BJP as it is the democracy which comes first...we have to keep democracy alive," she said.

Addressing the first programme of the BSP after a dismal show in the recent assembly elections, Mayawati, in a major announcement, also appointed her brother Anand Kumar as party's vice president.

"I announce my brother Anand Kumar as the party's national vice president with the condition that he will never become MP, MLA, minister of chief minister," she said.

Speaking for the first time before her party workers on her medical condition which she said has forced her to read written texts, she said she lost one of her glands in 1996.

"One of the two glands in my throat was removed by doctors in an operation and so I cannot stress my throat too much," Mayawati said.

The BSP chief who has been under fire following a recent decision of the Yogi Adityanath government to order probe into sale of sugar mills and construction of memorials under her government, she said, "I'm being targetted under a conspiracy so that I stop speaking on the EVM issue tampering by BJP."

11:59

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to the father of Indian Constitution Dr BR Ambedkar on his 126th birth anniversary at Deekshabhoomi in Nagpur.

11:22

JUST IN: United States MOAB air strike killed at least 36 Islamic State terrorists: Afghan officials

11:11 'Mother Of All Bombs' kills youth from Kerala who joined IS

One of the 21 missing Kerala youth, who was later found to have joined the Islamic State, was killed in the mega airstrike conducted by the United States in the Achin district of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.

The US military had dropped its most powerful non-nuclear bomb to target the Islamic State tunnels and personnel.

According to the report, four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission said a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, nicknamed MOAB, was dropped at 7 pm local time Thursday.

The MOAB is also known as the 'mother of all bombs'.

A MOAB is a 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition that is America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb.

The information about Murshid's death was received by his family thought a telegram message.

Earlier in February, another youth from the same group was killed in a drone strike in Afghanistan. The message was received by a distant relative of Hafesudheen Theke Koleth in Kasaragod, Kerala, who was from the missing 21-member group who have left the nation.

The message went on to say that the killed youth had been buried in Afghanistan. -- ANI

The Income Tax department will investigate over 60,000 individuals under the second phase of the 'Operation Clean Money' which was launched today with an aim to detect black money generation post demonetisation.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes, policy-making body of the department, said it has detected undisclosed income over Rs 9,334 crore between the period of November 9, 2016 till February 28 this year.

The notes ban was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year.

"More than 60,000 persons, including 1,300 high risk persons, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales during the demonetisation period. More than 6,000 transactions of high value property purchase and 6,600 cases of outward remittances shall be subjected to detailed investigations (under Operation Clean Money II).

"All the cases where no response is received shall also be subjected to detailed inquiries," the CBDT said.

A senior officer said advanced data analytics has been used to identify suspect cash deposits before launching the latest edition of the operation.

As part of the first phase of the 'Operation Clean Money', launched on January 31 this year, the department had sent online queries and investigated 17.92 lakh persons out of which 9.46 lakh persons have responded to the department. -- PTI

09:34

JUST IN: Income Tax Department launches second phase of operation 'Clean Money' to detect black money post-demonetisation; to issue notices to 60,000 entities. -- PTI

09:28 PM to launch BHIM-Aadhaar app today

Marking the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar as a day to introduce several initiatives to further the digital payments revolution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch BHIM-Aadhaar App today in Nagpur.

Other schemes include BHIM Aadhaar platform for merchants, cash back and referral bonus schemes for BHIM and declaring about 75 townships going less-cash.

BHIM Aadhaar, the merchant interface of the BHIM App will pave the way for making digital payments by using Aadhaar.

This will enable every Indian citizen to pay digitally using their biometric data like their thumb imprint on a merchants' biometric enabled device.In this case, any citizen without access to smart phones, internet, debit or credit cards will be able to transact digitally through the BHIM Aadhaar platform.

Further, the prime minister will launch two new incentive schemes for the BHIM -- Cashback and Referral bonus.

Under the Referral bonus scheme the existing user of BHIM and the new user of BHIM, both will get a cash bonus credited directly to their accounts whereas under the cashback scheme, the merchants will get cash back on every transaction made by BHIM.

The prime minister will also announce about 75 townships spread all over India as 'less-cash townships' with a view to achieve the target of 2500 crore digital transactions during the current financial year.

A less-cash township is one where the deployment of payment acceptance infrastructure is complete. These townships are likely to generate over 1.5 lakh digital transactions every day.

These initiatives would further promote the digital movement and reinforce the vision of Babasaheb for social empowerment of all through financial inclusion.

Besides, Modi will join culmination of the DigiDhan Mela, where he will present awards to Mega Draw winners of Lucky Grahak Yojana and DigiDhan Vyapar Yojna. -- ANI

The Uttarakhand Congress has said 'Vande Mataram' will not be sung at the party's official programmes for one month 'come what may'.

The state unit of Congress declared this days after Uttarakhand minister Dhan Singh Rawat had said that those who want to live in Uttarakhand will have to sing 'Vande Mataram' -- the national song.

Rawat had also said that singing of the national song was being made compulsory in schools across the state.

State Congress president Kishore Upadhyay said, "They cannot impose things like that on people. I announce that we will not sing Vande Mataram at our programmes for one month come what may.'

Reacting to the Congress leader's assertion, state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ajay Bhatt said by opposing an age old tradition of concluding every official programme with the singing of the national song, the Congress had only 'reflected its decadent culture'. -- PTI

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh today said he is "not bothered" about what Canada thinks about his stand on its minister Harjit Sajjan and asserted that he will not associate himself with "Khalistani sympathisers"

"I am not bothered about what Sajjan or others in the Canadian government think about my stand. I am concerned only about the detrimental impact of these Khalistani sympathisers on this country, particularly on Punjab," he said.

Canada has termed as "disappointing and inaccurate" the comments by Amarinder that five ministers in the Justin Trudeau government, including Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, were "Khalistani sympathisers".

Yesterday, during a programme of a private TV channel, the CM had alleged, "Harjit Sajjan is a Khalistani sympathiser and so was his father. There are, in fact, five ministers in the Justin Trudeau government who were Khalistani sympathisers and I will not have any truck with them."

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